


Ghost of the Past

by orphan_account



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, Female Chara, Female Frisk, Flashbacks, Non-Consensual Bondage, Rape/Non-con Elements, Shock Collars, Stockholm Syndrome, Tsundere!Chara, Yandere!Frisk, death mentions, war mentions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-06
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-10-28 13:50:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10832580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: After the breaking of the barrier, Frisk and Chara's relationship utterly collapsed as the two attempted to return to a normal life, even attempting to return to school. Chara, unable to face the truth, disappeared without a word to Frisk for nine years, only telling her family that she had joined the military expedition to free monsters from oppression in other kingdoms.When Chara returns home, her family pushes her to finally remedy her relationship with Frisk. Frisk, upon finding out about Chara's return home, is deathly afraid of losing Chara again, and she plans to take back everything that the past nine years had stolen from her.***Charisk at first, ChaCha later***





	1. Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to break hearts and crush souls so I made something incredibly messed up and awful, as much as my soul would allow something like that to be created.

A ghost walked into town, meandering the lonely streets under the midnight moon high in the sky. she had been gone for years now, so many years that she almost forgot how many it had been. Too many, for sure, all too many years she had ran. It was an honorable service, without a doubt, but it was a service that she had taken up for all the wrong reasons. Now? Now she didn’t belong in this town, she was a ghostly figure of a time long gone. Her people, a people she once so deeply loved, had surely forgotten her name. It was quiet in town, only the sound of chirping crickets and lightning bugs buzzing about gave the night any comfort. Surely everyone was sound asleep, and the lack of lights were her confirmation. At least, it was for only a little while. The cold nights seemed so much less bitter now to the ghost, the world having so much less affect on her. In the distance, she saw a single, solitary blue light on a lonely porch atop a hill. Sitting outside was a familiar face to the ghost, familiar and recognizable from a mile away. It was one that gave the ghost great comfort. she almost reached out towards the light, a name sitting on the tip of her tongue, desperate to call out. But she didn’t. she retracted her hand, stuffing them into her pockets, and the ghost turned away and sighed. she continued to walk down the streets, but every turn she made was unsure, almost like she expected the whole world to have changed while she were away, but it had not. It was the exact same as the day she left, not a care left in the world. she stepped onto a more familiar porch of a suburban home, and reached her hand into a pocket for the key. The ghost walked inside the building, softly shutting the door behind her and dropped her massive bag on the sofa, almost collapsing on to it. she took off the hat of her uniform and let down her fluffy brown hair.

“Asriel, sweetie, if you’re trying to get another midnight snack you better not be! You know what it does to your stomach in the- Oh.. You didn’t tell me you were going to be home tonight. I suppose.. I suppose you didn’t want a large welcome, my child. I am.. I am so happy to see you again..” Toriel, the ghost’s adoptive mother, sniffled out as she walked down the stairs. She opened up her large, fluffy arms and smiled, “I know you don’t like hugs, you never have, but just this once may you make an exception? I missed you, my child.”

The ghost looked up from the sofa, a weak smile falling ever so gently across her lips, forgetting how to speak as she stood up. she walked over, hands in pockets, and fell into her mother’s embrace. It was a soft hug, a deep reminder of home that the ghost had no experienced in so, so long. Eventually, the ghost softened up and finally hugged back. “How’s the family been..? It’s been so long, I don’t remember the last time I was home.” The ghost had found her voice, but it was broken and cracked.

“It wasn’t a happy day.. Still, all in the past. You’re home now, and I’m sure your brother and father will be overjoyed to see you. We’ve all missed you, would you like to wake them? They would be so happy.” She asked softly.

“No, I couldn’t. I don’t want to wake anyone, it’s already so late..” The ghost replied, releasing a deep breath that sounded as if she had been holding for years. “Perhaps I’ll just see them in the morning..”

“After midnight is technically morning, you know.” Came a voice from the stairs, a voice that had once been shrill and young was now deepened, with a strong bass. It was Asriel, running down the stairs in his Pajamas as quickly as his legs could possibly carry him. “And who needs sleep when your best big sibling is back home! Come here, you!” He tackled both his mother and the ghost in a giant hug. He had grown quite a bit in the past years, and he was now taller than mother, almost the size of father. He had certainly grown taller than the ghost.

“You’re tall now, Azzy.. I guess a lot has changed, huh? You’re not just a little kid anymore. I guess everyone grew up while I was gone.” The ghost laughed, but only very weakly. It was such a weak laugh that it seemed almost forced.

“I sure am, and it looks like you got shorter! See you tease me now that you’re the little one, hah!” Asriel laughed heartily, pulling away from the tight hug and ruffling the ghost’s messy mop of hair. “I bet you can’t even reach my ears to pull at ‘em anymore.”

“Pfft, I wouldn’t bet money on that. Some things just don’t change, little Azzy. Some things just don’t change.” she smiled weakly, but no longer was it forced, and pulled back from the hug. she stuffed her hands in her back pockets, and straightened out her posture. The medals adorning her chest glistened in the light.

“You’re all grown up, Chara. I’m so very proud of you, we all are.” Father’s voice echoed through the sitting room as he walked down the stairs with a small on his face, a bright smile, a smile that was beyond comforting, like the warmth of the hearth.

“Yeah we are! Look at this! Commander Chara the Liberator, the protector of Monster kind, the medal of honor, the seal of the human king, heroism, loyalty, a red heart, so many medals.. And the crests of so many other kingdoms. You’re really something, huh? I always knew you were.” Asriel fiddled with all the gold and silver medals on Chara’s uniform with a great big smile on his face.

“And now you’re home, where you belong. I am so happy to have you home.. I know it’s so late, but I think I’m going to go make something for us to celebrate! Asgore, dear, please give me some help.” Toriel smiled widely, and with a nod from father, they both went to the kitchen, leaving the ghost and her brother alone.

“Come on, I’d like to sit outside. I know how much you love the stars.” Asriel nudged Chara by the shoulder out of the door and onto the front porch, where the two then sat next to one another on the bench. The ghost began to get lost within her own thought once again, and began to stare into the distance towards the house on the hill and the blue light that came from it.

“Who lives up there?” she asked softly, leaning forward towards the small blue light in the distance. “Up on that hill.”

“That’s Frisk’s home, she moved in up there on her own once she was old enough to take care of herself. It’s more of a meeting house than a home, in my opinion. There’s always something going on, some important ambassador business to take care of. I don’t think she’s been happy for a while.” Asriel explained, losing his bright, toothy smile. His lips fell down into a frown, and he sighed. “she misses you, too.”

“I didn’t say I missed her.” Chara huffed, leaning back into the bench and folding her arms, furrowing her brow. “She always pestered me about this and that, and bugged me all the time just to disapprove of everything I did when we were young, and I doubt that’ll ever change. I’m not sure she would ever miss me. That’s just absurd.”

“You know, you’re right about that thing you said earlier. Some things don’t change, not one bit. You’ve still got your head buried five miles into denial.” Asriel laughed, giving a gentle ruffle through Chara’s hair and nudging her shoulder. “Don’t be so silly, I’m taking you to go say hi to Frisk tomorrow. You have no say in this, I’m bigger than you now.”

“That isn’t how that works, Azzy! You don’t get to decide just because you’re taller than me now, that doesn’t mean a thing.” Chara was taken aback, lifting an eyebrow and temporarily unfolding her arms.

“Oh I see how it is! Height is a big deal when you’re taller than me but not when I’m the one that’s taller! Well, well, well! I’m taking you to go see Frisk tomorrow, and you have no say because mother would want you to.” Asriel feigned utter shock and hurt, which quickly faded away into a goofy laughter.

“You always bring Mom into this..” Chara grumbled, turning away and staring once again towards the house on the hill, Frisk’s house on the hill, and the light that shone from the window. “Fine.. I guess I don’t have a choice.”

    **The Next Day**

“Come on, Chara! You’ve been bumming around all day, it’s like you don’t want to do anything! We’re going to go see Frisk now, get off the sofa!” Asriel complained, waving his arms about in exasperation before reaching over and picking Chara up off the couch, who only grumbled in response.

“She’s probably busy or something.. I don’t want to bother her or something. she must have important work to do.” Chara folded her arms across her chest and frowned. she hadn’t bothered changing clothes, so she was still in uniform.

“You’re more important, now we’re going and that’s that.” Asriel said firmly, pulling Chara out of the door and dragging her down the street. Although Chara could have fought back with great ease, she simply elected not to. This was something she knew needed to happen, as little as she wanted to partake in the actual doing it. It didn’t take long before the two reached the front door of Frisk’s house, and Asriel knocked on the front door with a smile. “Just stand behind me, it’ll be fine.”

When Frisk opened the door, she only saw Asriel and not the ghost lingering behind him in fear, “Oh! Hey Asriel, what brings you up here? I haven’t had you visit my place in weeks, I think. How have you been?”

“I’ve been doing pretty great, actually! Anyway, I’m actually here to deliver a very special visitor to you. It’s very important stuff, very official.” Asriel couldn’t help but laugh as he said this, and he stepped to the side and pushed Chara forward. “And now that my delivery is done, I’ll just be going-” As soon as Asriel turned to head down the hill, Chara’s hand shot up like a bolt of lightning and grabbed Asriel by the ear and grumbled something under her breath.

“Is this some sort of sick dream?” Frisk stepped backwards, and leaned against the doorframe as she wiped her eyes. “You’re not actually here, at my door, because that just wouldn’t make any sense whatsoever. That would be crazy.”


	2. Awkward Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk and Chara finally meet again after a solid nine years, and things don't go quite like Chara had hoped for.. Or the way anyone expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Teen Flashbacks

“No, I’m here.. It’s not a dream.” Chara mumbled, staring down at her feet while still holding Asriel by his big fluffy ear. “But I can see you don’t want to see me right now, so I guess I’ll be going now, goodbye.” she turned to leave but Asriel quickly pushed her back.

“Oh like hell you are! I cannot believe you, Chara Dreemurr! Somehow, despite being raised by the kindest monsters in the planet, you managed to turn out with the worst possible manners and a mile thick skull!” Frisk gathered herself and stepped forward, jabbing an angry finger into Chara’s chest as her whole body trembled. she was on the verge of tears, tears that would surely fall like rain if the floodgates were opened even just a crack. “You’re the biggest idiot I have ever met! I can’t believe you had the nerve to.. To..”

“Some things don’t change, Asriel. You see? This was a bad idea, she doesn’t like me and she doesn’t want to see me. It’s always been that way, we should just go home.” Chara snapped and waved a hand around angrily. she turned back to Frisk, “As for this, I don’t know what you want me to say, Frisk. I saved a lot of lives, so I don’t see why you’re so damn pissed. You never even liked me, and would rather I did something good with myself, so I did. Isn’t that what you wanted from me?”

“No that isn’t, no! Why are you like this?!” Frisk stepped back for a moment, the tears now starting to fall and when they did, they poured. “You’re so stupid! How can one human begin to be so blind! Well, you’re not going home! You don’t get to leave!”

“What the hell are you-” Chara started in complete confusion, taken aback by what seemed like a sudden outburst, but was quickly stopped in her sentence by Frisk, only 4’10, grabbing her by the elbow and pulling her inside the house. Asriel followed with a grin plastered to his face. “Frisk, what the fuck is your problem right now?”

“Shut your damn mouth, Chara!” Frisk shouted, shoving Chara onto the sofa in the sitting room, where Frisk plopped down right next to her. Literally right next to her, so close that Chara could feel her heart beating. “Stop talking, and stop trying to run away. Just.. stop.”

“I-” Chara started again, but Frisk shushed her as soon as she tried to talk. She looked over at Asriel, who was sitting down in a nice arm chair, with a pleading expression on her face and in her eyes. Asriel just shrugged in response, picked up the remote and turned on the TV. He still had an enormous grin on his face, as if he had done something incredibly clever and in his mind, he surely thought he had.

_**Eleven Years Ago** _

_“Frisk, are you seriously sleeping? Oh my- Damn it, wake up! Damn insufferable human beings I swear to.. Wake! UP!” Chara was exasperatedly shaking Frisk by the shoulder, who had fallen asleep while the two were supposed to be working together for a project. Frisk, after a good bit more shaking, finally looked up groggily. “This is my mother’s school. I am not allowed to be less than perfection right now, and as much as I don’t want to be your partner for some stupid project, I need your help. So just.. Help? Maybe?”_

_“Maybe I’d be more willing to help if-” Frisk paused a moment to yawn and then stretched afterwards, “If you weren’t so mean to me. Just try to be nicer, try again and use manners this time. Please? I’m tired.”_

_“Are you- Are you shitting me right now? You know what, fuck you. I’ll do this whole thing on my own and take all the credit. Just go back to sleep.” Chara snapped angrily, gathering up all of the project materials in her arms and standing up to move to another seat, probably in the front of the classroom._

_“Oh, come on! I was just kidding, I’m going to help, don’t be like that!” Frisk sat up straight and reached out for Chara’s arm with a pleading smile, “I want to help. It’s important to you so I want to help.”_

_“Really? No, shut the hell up, you don’t get to do that. I’m so fed up with you right now, so fucking done. I’m doing this project by myself and you can suck it up buttercup. Just because everyone else likes you, or because you’re some fancy ambassador or really important, that doesn’t mean I like you by default. Go away.” Chara almost growled before stomping away, dropping her work down and leaving Frisk to stare._

_**Later That Day, After School** _

_Frisk stopped just before the door to the Dreemurr household and took in a deep breath. It wasn’t exactly easy to work with Chara anymore, despite the connection they shared through their souls. Frisk had lost a lot of her determination after she had set the monster kingdom free, her job and school was draining it. Things were steadily falling apart between the two of her, and Chara being angsty didn’t help. Frisk knocked on the door, Chara answered, almost shutting it again as soon as she saw Frisk’s face._

_“Wait! Don’t shut the door, please! I’m supposed to be at work.. But I wanted to help you. I don’t want to let you feel alone with the things I’m supposed to be helping you do in the first place. I’m sorry.”_

_Chara softened her metallic expression and let the door open fully, stepping into the door frame with her lips in a tight frown, “No. just go to work. Your job is more important than some dumb school project. So just.. Go.” She sneered and dropped a hand to her hip._

_Frisk swallowed nervously, for more than one reason to say the least, and spoke up again with a shake in her voice, “Please let me help?” Was all she could manage to squeak out, but it was enough. Not for Chara, mind you, but for her mother who was just walking by from the stair case._

_“Oh! Frisk, dear! I’m so glad to see you two kids hanging out again, Chara my child, why don’t you go up to your room and pick up just a bit? I’m going to talk to Frisk really quickly, this will be so nice!” Mother exclaimed happily, ushering Frisk through the door and sending Chara on her way upstairs. she went, of course, as disappointing her mother was never something she wanted. The large goat mother turned to face Frisk with a smile. “I know Chara is hard to handle sometimes, she isn’t a fan of people and that won’t ever change. She have a lot of love in her heart, though, and I’m sure you know. I’m glad to see you two trying again. If any human has my blessing to marry my child, It’s you,” And on that note, Toriel ushered Frisk upstairs, who was left staring at the door in confusion._

_Eventually, Frisk knocked and stepped inside, seeing Chara sit down on the bed, arms folded and brows furrowed. “Sit down, write your name on the poster board and call whoever is in charge of your job and let her know you won’t be there for another 30 minutes. If you leave now, my mother will be disappointed. I don’t want that.”_

_“What do you mean? I didn’t do any work on this, I can’t put my name on it and take credit for something you did by yourself..” Frisk walked over and looked over the project. It was incredibly well done, for sure._

_“Shut up, Frisk. Write your name on the poster and consider it repayment. You do a lot of work for the people I care about. It’s worth a free project grade.”_

That was the first time since the breaking of the barrier that Chara could stand, still only barely so, being anywhere near Frisk. Watching her succeed in everything she did, almost without trying, truly crushed something inside of Chara, especially when Frisk was chosen to be ambassador instead of herself. She looked at Frisk more of the human she could never be, and hated her for it. With that in her heart, she set out to find every single flaw in Frisk and poke as much fun as possible at it whenever she could. Being near her just frustrated her to no end, and despite all that anger in her soul, she still couldn’t help but like the red-souled human. When Chara left for war, 9 years ago, she didn’t do it to run away, not necessarily anyway. She wanted to make something of herself, to be something that Frisk couldn’t be, and to feel good about who she was again. And yes, she was also running from her feelings. It was something that she could admit now, at least to just herself.

Frisk had now fallen asleep against Chara’s chest, whose heart was beating fast, pumping like the iron wheels of a train. Finally, and awkwardly for sure, Chara managed to slip free from Frisk and stand up. She moved slowly from the sitting room the kitchen, searching around for something. Asriel looked over from his comfortable seat. “What are you looking for? she might wake up without you there.”

“Just trying to find a piece of paper and something to write with. I’m doing something incredibly out of character, and then we’re leaving.” Chara replied bluntly, finally pulling a crumpled sheet of paper and a dull pencil from one of the drawers, and she started to write.

“I’m not sure she’ll be happy to wake up to see that you’ve just gone and disappeared.” Asriel warned, getting up from his seat and heading over to where Chara was writing, peering over her shoulder. “But hey, just let her know where you are and I’m sure it’ll be fine. Mother would be beyond happy to see her if she visits.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that. And hey, who said I was going to be staying at home? I might be going for a run or.. Something.” Chara signed off the note and looked up at Asriel with a frown, who grinned widely in response.

“Because whenever you don’t want to face your feelings, you hide in your room and eat large amounts of chocolate. Some things just don’t change.”

“Shut up.” Chara snapped, setting the note down on Frisk’s coffee table and heading to the door. she swung it open, and left just as quickly as she came.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chara is not a happy camper. Broody, teenage grump


	3. Saturday Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chara goes to Frisk's home on top of the hill for a mini sort of date, but things get dicey when she tries to leave and go home.

Frisk awakened to find herself alone on the sofa, not a single sound resonating throughout the house. Chara must have left while she was asleep, it certainly wouldn’t have been the first time she had done that and it wouldn’t be the last. She lifted herself up from her comfortable position on the sofa and looked to see a small note laying on the coffee table. At least one of the two had the courtesy to leave some kind of note. Frisk picked up the note and looked it over, it was clearly Chara’s handwriting. It was an almost miracle that Chara could ever apologize about anything, much less to Frisk of all people. She truly wished that Chara wasn’t so insistent on running from everything, she was always running and she just didn’t stop. Frisk had accepted her feelings, and the day she wanted to tell Chara, Chara ran away and didn’t come back for 9 years. She wasn’t happy, obviously, but she still knew exactly how she felt. Still, she apologized, maybe Chara was coming around.

All she needed was one little something, one gesture or act that might show Frisk that Chara did care enough, that she was coming around and would stop running away. This was the one little something Frisk needed to give her hope. It had been so long, and as much as Chara doesn’t want to admit, things have changed, quite a lot. She had one last chance to make things better, Frisk had spent far too much time waiting and something needed to happen or she needed to move on. It had been way too long for her to wait any more.

**Meanwhile, at the Dreemurr Home**

“Chara! I told you this is what you would do, stop hiding in your room! You’ve been there for hours and you aren’t even doing anything! I know you’re awake. Just because the lights are off and you pretending to be asleep does not mean I am buying it! Get out here and face the fact that you are not stone cold!” Asriel knocked aggressively on Chara’s door, trying to get it open.

“I am colder than ice, a stone hearted warrior! And I am sleeping right now, 100% asleep so go away! And I’m not hiding from anything, I’m not a coward! I single handedly ended the tyrannical eastern regime! You’re hiding! Your mom is hiding!” Chara shouted from behind the door.

“Chara, you’re almost thirty years old god damn it! I can’t believe you just made a your mom joke to me, we have the same mother you absolute walnut! Stop being immature, get out and face your fears, it’s okay to feel feelings.” Asriel knocked on the door again, louder and harder than before.

“Excuse me, I am not! I am twenty eight, so don’t you get that wrong! I am not that old you jerk!” Chara called out again, stomping to the door and swinging it open. “I am not afraid of anything, or facing anything. I just know when I am and am not wanted, or when I am needed or not needed. I can tell you for sure that I am not needed nor wanted.”

“Chara, you’re a great person, and in all your greatness you are still so, so very blind. How can you not see that you are wanted, you’re wanted quite a lot. Frisk has had nine years, nine solid years to find someone else, but she waited. she waited for you, because she knew that you would come back, she felt it in her soul that you would.” Asriel sighed, looking down at her older sibling, “You can’t do this to someone, she doesn’t deserve it.”

“Fine, fine, you win. I think you’re absolutely nuts, but fine. I’ll… I don’t know, invite her over for dinner? I don’t know what you’re expecting me to do.” Chara huffed, folding her arms angrily.

“You sound like a child again, Chara. I don’t expect you to do anything, I just expect you to make the right choice. The choice that isn’t selfish.” Asriel explained, turning away and heading towards the stairs, he called from over his shoulder, “I know you have it in you, just do the right thing.”

Chara looked over at her nightstand and stared at the phone sitting there, unmoving, as it taunted her and her cowardice. It was just a phone call, how hard could it be to make a phone call? Yet in all nine years of her service, she had never been more terrified than she was now. Taking in a deep, shaking breath, she reached forward and picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number, hoping Frisk hadn’t changed her number.. And it went directly to voicemail. It was Frisk’s voicemail, for sure.

“Hey… Sorry I kinda left but, you were asleep and I had to.. I had to go handle something, you know? Sorry. I was wondering if you wanted to hang out sometime? You know, just a couple of days from now or something? I need to get adjusted to being home and.. All.. It’s just if you want, I’m trying to be polite. You’re a dumb nerd.” Chara hung up quickly. Did she really have to add that at the end? Yes, yes she did. Frisk can’t get the idea that she might have any amount of niceness in her.

**At Frisk’s Home**

The voicemail that Chara left played over and over on repeat while Frisk laid still on the sofa. How typical of Chara to try to end something sincere with a half-assed insult to make herself seem insincere. It was a nice gesture from her, though, and it certainly made Frisk happy to hear. Chara had a habit of running away, though, a very strong habit of running that cut deep into both of their souls. Frisk would have to do something just to make sure that she wouldn’t run away, especially now that she was in her reach. With a little thought for just a few minutes, she had something in her head for how to do this, she picked up the phone and called Chara back, letting her now that Saturday would be a great day for that, and for Chara to come by at lunch time.

**That Saturday**

Chara nervously walked up the steps of Frisk’s front porch, standing at the door for what felt like an eternity. She didn’t want to knock, nor did she want to admit that she was scared out of her mind. Finally gathering the courage, she raised her hand and knocked softly on the door. She worried it wasn’t loud enough a knock, though only for a moment before Frisk swung the door open, sporting a large smile.

“Hey there, Chara! Thank you for leaving that note, by the way. I appreciate it very much.” Frisk said politely, gesturing with her hand for Chara to come inside. “Is there anything that you wanted to do today or..?”

“I.. I uh.. I didn’t really think that far ahead..” Chara laughed nervously, trying not to choke on her own words. How could she just sit here and talk with Frisk after leaving her in the dark for nine solid years? How could any of this be normal for anyone involved? “Sorry.. I.. I don’t know. We can watch a movie or something, if you want.. I guess it’s up to you. You always wanted to make all the decisions anyway.” She tried to cover up her nervousness. It wasn’t working too well.

“Well then, I want you to watch a movie in the sitting room with me, so that’s what we’re going to do.” Frisk nodded, taking Chara by the hand and pulling her towards the sofa. Chara’s usual blush deepened, spreading across her entire face the second that Frisk took her hand. She was so stiff and nervous that Frisk had to actually pull her down onto the Sofa, and even then,

Chara remained stiff. It was an awkward experience, Frisk not wanting to make her uncomfortable and Chara being made uncomfortable by almost everything. She sat almost perfectly still, said nothing, and stared directly at the TV screen, the entire time. This isn’t what Frisk had wanted at all, what was wrong with her? Years seemed to pass and finally, the movie ended.

“That was good, huh?” Frisk looked over at Chara, who just nodded in response. Frisk sighed, getting up and going to the kitchen, grabbing a bar of chocolate out of the fridge. “I got you some chocolate. It’s still your favorite, right?” She asked, going back to the sitting room with the Chocolate.

“Yeah, thanks..” Chara mumbled, taking the bar of chocolate and almost inhaling the entire thing within seconds. Frisk stared with a smile plastered on her face. It didn’t take long for Chara to begin yawning through the awkward silence. “I’m getting.. Awfully tired, I’m just gonna.. Head home now..”

Chara stood up, stumbling from the sofa and towards the door. Her eyes began to flutter, darkness falling around her as each step became harder and harder, lifting her legs growing in difficulty with every passing second. The world began to spin, and she fell backwards into Frisk’s waiting arms, out cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops


	4. Nightmares: Awake and Asleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chara wakes up from a nightmare, only to find herself in a situation that might as well be a nightmare.

**Chara’s Dreams**

_Where was she..? The world was dark, nothing around her whatsoever but pitch darkness. Slowly, a world began to build itself around her, buildings constructing themselves to the sky, a city creating itself around her. It was so familiar, but she couldn’t place her finger on what it was about it. she wandered the streets, alone, not a sound emitting from her surroundings. Every corner she turned repeated the same thing she saw the last turn and the turn before that, like she was going around in circles, but she was sure that she wasn’t. Slowly, she began to hear something in the distance, a faint crying, the sound of a child. Chara began to run after the sound, unable to focus on anything other than the cry of the child. she came to the end of an unfamiliar alley, a small monster child curled up on the ground, tears pouring from their eyes. Chara stepped closer, kneeling down and putting her hand on the child’s shoulder. The child uncurled and turned around to reveal large amounts of bombs strapped to their chest, they were bawling tears now. Chara stepped back as the monster-child exploded, throwing Chara back and destroying the entirety of the dream city that had been built up. When she woke up, she was in a camp.. she saw all of her friends, the friends she had made over the nine years, and she felt something warm in her heart. That warmth shattered, reliving the brutal deaths of all her friends. Beheadings, explosions, shots, and slowly dying in Chara’s arms. She watched the Monster’s that she wanted nothing more to save be brutalized in death camps as she tried to save her. So many.. So many died.. she pushed forward as hard as she could, trying to save as many lives as she could, but stacking up around her was everyone that she failed to save. She felt as if her soul was being stared into, burning a hole through her. Everyone was calling out to her, why couldn’t she save any? She fell to the ground, blood and dust flooding around her as she let tears pour from her eyes. She needed help, someone had to come and help her, she screamed out, blood gurgling in her mouth. she couldn’t do it on her own, she needed someone to save her. Help._

She woke up screaming and crying, the taste of salt in her mouth. she wasn’t at her own home, that was for sure, but she didn’t know quite where she was and it was absolutely terrifying. Her vision was blurred, and she couldn’t see her own hands in front of her. She felt something surge up from her stomach, bubbling acid as she felt herself choking and gagging. She leaned over from where ever she was lying and vomited over the side. Rolling back over, she stared up at the ceiling, tears falling down her cheeks as her body trembled without stop. Nothing was okay, where was she? Logic told her Frisk’s house, but she was so terrified that she had somehow woken up in an enemy prison camp once again, so terrified that she would have to witness another death, or even her own. She heard the door swing open with a creak, and she jumped backwards wildly, sobbing with nothing holding her back anymore. She tried to ask who was there, but only choked up noises came up.

“Chara? Chara, it’s okay! You’re here with me, you’re safe. Please don’t be afraid, nothing can hurt you here, I’m going to protect you.” Came the call of Frisk’s voice, and Chara could feel her heart rate drop to a steady pulse as she felt the warmth of Frisk’s arms wrap around her. she directed all of her tears and pain into Frisk’s shoulder, clutching onto her as if her life depended on it. “You’re safe, I promise, you’re only sick and afraid.”

“Where… Where am I? What happened..?” Chara coughed up, still crying deep into Frisk’s shoulder but now calm enough to speak softly.

“You haven’t been drinking enough water so when you got up so quickly, you passed out. I caught you and took you to my room. I shouldn’t have left you alone, I’m sorry.” Frisk comforted, rubbing Chara’s back. “Don’t worry, everything is going to be okay.”

“Oh.. I.. I understand.. I’m fine, I’m fine..” Chara pushed away, rubbing at her eyes as her tears came to a halt. “I think I’m going to go home. Thank you for taking care of me, Frisk. I have to go home, I’m sure my brother is worried.” she tried to move from off of the bed.

“No, Chara, you can’t go!” Frisk shouted quickly, grabbing Chara’s arm and pulling her back, “You aren’t well, you can’t leave. I’ll call your brother and make sure they know that you’re okay, but you can’t leave. You’ll get hurt, just stay with me where it’s safe.”

“Frisk, I can take care of myself.. I’ll be fine.” Chara sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed and staring down. The smell of her own throwup reached her mouth, and she began to gag violently before vomiting once again. She clutched her stomach, leaned back onto the bed and groaned. “I’m not fine.. I’ll stay here.. Thank you.”

“Anything for you, darling. I’ll clean this up and get you a bucket, just go back to sleep dear. Everything is going to be okay.” Frisk patted Chara’s head, getting up from the bed and disappearing from the room. she returned with a glass of water, “Drink this.”

“Alright… Thank you again, Frisk.” Chara nodded, slowly drinking the cup of water as Frisk watched patiently. When she was done, Frisk took the glass and left the room once again. Chara soon passed out again into a deep, dreamless sleep.

When Chara woke up, she did feel considerably better. The room was much cleaner now, and smiled quite nice. she stood up from the bed and walked to the door, tugging at the door knob only to find that the door was locked. Why would the door be locked, and locked from the outside? Chara sighed loudly, tugging at the door again until she realized there was no use at all in trying. She was about to attempt to break the door down when Frisk swung it open with a bright smile on her face.

“Are you feeling better, dear? I hope so, I don’t want you to be sick.” Frisk asked gently, placing a hand on Chara’s shoulder and walking her out of the room back to the main hall.

“Yes, I’m doing okay. Thank you for taking care of me, but.. I have to ask.. Why was the door locked? The bedroom door, it was locked from the outside..” Chara asked slowly, looking down at Frisk.

“Oh, that. I’m sorry, baby, I just wanted to make sure that if you had another nightmare, you wouldn’t get scared and run off or do something that might hurt yourself.” Frisk explained with a gentle smile, giving Chara’s cheek a touch.

“Oh, thank you, I think..” Chara stammered, shoving her hands in her pockets as Frisk got awkwardly closer and closer to her. “This is.. You’re getting a little intimate, here. I.. I’m really confused.”

“Oh, Chara, you were always a little slow on the pick-up.” Frisk giggled, placing her other hand on Chara’s other cheek. “That’s okay, though, you’re here with me now and I’m going to make you understand.”

“Understand.. What? Frisk, you’re worrying me a little bit..” Chara laughed awkwardly, stepping back but finding a solid wall behind her. Frisk looked up into Chara’s eyes and sighed dreamily.

“Chara.. I have to tell you, I can hardly keep this pent up any longer than the nine years I’ve waited and waited for you. Chara Dreemurr.. I love you, and I’ve loved you ever since the start. This isn’t something you can run from anymore, your feelings haven’t and won’t change. Tell me what you’ve been running from all these years, darling.” Frisk whispered hotly, standing up on her tippy toes to reach Chara’s ear.

“I’m not running from anything, Frisk, I haven’t been.. I just did what I had to do, and.. I don’t know..” Chara stuttered, blushing fiercely as she tried to look away, Frisk’s hand guiding their eyes back to being locked together. “Maybe I am running, and hiding, and all the things I’ve been told. Maybe I’m feeling feelings, but I don’t know what they are. I need time to figure it out, just.. I’m going to go home."

“Time? You need time? Are you serious, Chara?” Frisk laughed, but it wasn’t her normal, sweet and caring laugh. It had something sinister about it, something that chilled Chara down to the bone. “You’ve had years, nine years to figure out how you felt while you left me alone and in the dark. There isn’t anymore time to give! Just tell me what is in your heart, tell me how you feel, now!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is messy


	5. Punishment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chara does a few more things that Frisk simply does NOT like, and she ends up getting punished for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter. There is rape in this chapter, and so I'mma say this now and say it again at the end, I do NOT condone this sort of behavior in anyway. I honestly find it disgusting. And heart breaking.

“You, you are.. I haven’t been able to get you off my mind for even a single moment during all the time I’ve known you. This is so hard for me, I can’t.. I can’t come to terms with this right now.. I’m frightened. I just need a minute alone, please.”

“That’s okay, I understand. It’s okay to be scared, baby, don’t worry. I’ll take you back to your room and you can have a moment there. We need to talk about this, though. Please, don’t take too long.” Frisk smiled, grabbing Chara’s hand and leading her back to the room. Chara attempted to pull away, but the hand grasping her was like a vice, and she just felt so weak, like she had just worked out every inch of her body to the breaking point.

“I want to go home, I’ll call you from there once I can, I promise.” Chara smiled weakly, hoping that it would be enough. she was frightened.

“No! Stop trying to run away, you never keep your promises! You aren’t allowed to leave, you can’t do this to me again!” Frisk turned around and shouted, her voice deepening and shaking the whole house. she looked down and away for a moment, softening her grip on Chara. “I’m sorry.. That was uncalled for.. I just.. I wanted for us to stay together for a while, to have dinner, for things to be nice and perfect, the way it should be.. Does that really sound so bad that you have to run away?” Frisk looked up at Chara with pleading eyes and pouty lips.

“No, not at all..” Chara said softly, reaching out and taking Frisk’s hand with some sudden surge of bravery, or perhaps it was fear, maybe even a mix of both. “I think I would like that very much, I’m sorry for upsetting you..”

“It’s okay, darling, I’ll always forgive you.” Frisk smiled, leading Chara into her new bedroom and gently nudging her inside. “I’m going to make dinner and give you the moment that you wanted. I’ll let you know when the food is ready.” She smiled, slowly shutting the door and then locking it from the outside, leaving Chara alone with her thoughts and feelings. Chara sat down on the bed and stared down at her feet. Why did she feel so physically weak? How did the even get sick like this? It was just one nightmare, it shouldn’t have done something like this to her. The only time she’s felt this physically exhausted for almost no reason at all was after being drugged to be transferred from cells in a prison camp, and there was no way Frisk would drug her. Then again, it did seem like Frisk had changed a lot in the nine years that she was gone. she were so much more possessive now, and had a mini-freak out any time she suggested leaving the house. Maybe Frisk really did drug her. Chara had never seen her try to get so close and do the things she was doing now. Frisk said that she loved her, almost out of the blue. Chara just didn’t know how to feel; she liked Frisk, for sure, more than she liked herself, but did she love Frisk? Chara worried she wouldn’t be allowed to leave unless she said it to her.

Frisk unlocked and opened the door, “Dinner is ready, dear. Please, come eat with me and we can talk things through. Everything will be just fine.” She said with a smile, walking over and taking Chara’s hands, backing away and pulling her towards the door.

“I’m not hungry..” Chara replied quickly, still getting up and following Frisk to the dining room. She didn’t have much strength in her to fight back, or to protest with much more vigor than she did now.

“Don’t be silly, Chara. You need to eat or you’ll start feeling sick again. Just take it slow, and it’ll be okay. I made dinner just for you.” Frisk sat Chara down and pushed her chair in, sitting down herself at the chair diagonal to Chara’s. Food and drink were already at the table, slices of chicken, grilled potato and roast corn. Frisk began to eat, but Chara didn’t make a single budge to touch her food, despite the fact that she was actually quite hungry. “Chara, sweetie, eat. You’re going to get sick again if you don’t, you need to eat. I made this just for you and your health. You’re going to really upset me if you don’t eat.”

Chara said nothing and made no move to do anything. She simply stared down at the floor with unblinking eyes.

“Fine, have it your own way, it’s not like I actually tried for you or anything!” Frisk snapped, getting up and taking Chara’s plate away, quickly return back to her chair with her lips curled in a tight frown. Chara still hadn’t looked up. “Chara, you’re worrying me. Why don’t you talk to me about what’s bothering you? We’re going to be together forever, you’ll have to open up to me eventually.”

“You drugged me, didn’t you? The chocolate you gave me, what did you put in that?And the water, too.. Why are you acting like this, this isn’t like you.” Chara finally looked towards Frisk, fire burning in her eyes. “I know you, and this isn’t you. I loved you, in the past tense, and maybe I can again but not like this.”

“I.. I..” Frisk looked away, tears bubbling within her eyes, “I did. I was scared that I would come so close to having you, and that you would run again. I did it because I love you and I can’t handle having you leave again! I always have, I’ll never stop.. You can love me again, you can, I know it. I’ll give you everything, I can, anything you want. Just don’t go.. You’ll be happy here. I promise.”

“What if I want to see my family? Or go out to a movie or.. Or anything? I can’t do that if you keep me here forever.” Chara protested, putting a hand on Frisk’s shoulder, “I want to love you again, but I’m not going to be your pet.”

“Don’t be silly, all you have to do is ask and we can go wherever you want! I want to be very generous with you, not for you to be my pet.” Frisk laughed, leaning into Chara and wrapping an arm round her waist. “I love you, and I’m going to build a perfect life for us, you’ll see.”

Chara’s body shuddered under Frisk’s icy touch, sending a pulse throughout her body that incited her to act, blood pumping throughout her. Was it fear, was it love? Did she want to run away or did she want to kiss Frisk? Those were words she had always been longing to hear, for someone to say she loved her and to offer what Frisk was offering. But what was she willing to give up for it? Frisk seemed to want to control Chara’s every breath, keeping her under lock and key like a prized possession. She didn’t seem to trust Chara either, but that was understandable, she left Frisk without a word for nine solid years. That could be fixed, surely, and the more Frisk trusted, the less controlling she would be, right? 

She could have everything that she wanted.. And so Chara did something incredibly bold. She turned to look directly into Frisk’s eyes, and she leaned in. She let out the hot breath she had been holding before pressing her lips onto Frisk’s. It was slow at first, Frisk barely registering what was going on but she pulled in tight, placing her hands on Chara’s shoulders and gripping like a steel vice. Frisk pulled herself from her seat and onto Chara’s lap, grinding her hips together as they kissed. Then straddling Chara, Frisk leaned up her lover’s chin and forced thei tongues to meet. For Frisk, it was a game of how far she could get her tongue down Chara’s throat. Frisk continued to grind their hips together, so much so that Chara might as well have been getting a lap dance as Frisk continued to push forward, wanting more and more of Chara. Chara lost all control of the situation when the chair leaned farther backwards, tipping and falling over, Frisk landing directly on top of her. Not that the fall stopped anything, and only succeeded in Frisk taking over. She broke away from this kiss, straddling Chara still and staring into her eyes with a drunken smirk. She said nothing, only placing her hands at the hem of Chara’s shirt and pulled it off.  Chara was too weak and too shaken to protest physically.

“Frisk, what are you doing? I.. I don’t think I want this..” Chara stammered, but Frisk didn’t say anything, only taking off her own shirt. She leaned back in, gripped Chara’s hips and kissed her again, much more passionately and with more fire than before. It wasn’t before long that Frisk’s hands found her way to the button of Chara’s pants, and it didn’t take long after that for Frisk to aggressively rip her off with only minimal struggle from Chara, who pulled away from this kiss, “Frisk, stop, this isn’t funny. I can’t fight back and you know I can’t, so just stop. I don’t want this.”

“Sucks to suck, because I want it, and so we’re doing it. Sorry babe, I guess you should just consider the consequences of your actions. If you didn’t leave, you wouldn’t have to make it up to me.” Frisk shrugged, letting her meandering hands slink to the straps of Chara’s bra, and ripped that off as well. Frisk ripped off the rest of Chara’s underwear, as well, leaving her naked on the floor underneath herself. Frisk loosened her own pants, pulling them down with one hand to reveal a disgustingly large toy hanging between her hips, while placing a firm grip across Chara’s throat with the other. Now that her pants were off enough, Frisk moved her hands to force Chara’s legs open.

“Frisk, seriously, this isn’t funny! I’m not ready for this, just let me make it up some other way!” Chara pleaded, trying to push Frisk away with whatever strength that she had, but she didn’t have any left in her. Frisk took a hand and slapped Chara directly in the face before shoving her legs and knees backwards, opening Chara up.

“Well you have two seconds to get ready, buttercup.” Frisk sneered, grabbing Chara by the hips and forcing the toy in dry. Chara tried to hold in her scream from the pain, but without any of her strength and determination, she couldn’t.

Chara didn’t stop screaming once the entire time, even for a second. She screamed in pain and agony, begging and pleading for Frisk to stop, but she didn’t. Frisk only went faster, pushed deeper and hit harder until finally, something began to spill from the toy and into Chara, so much so that it began to splurt out all onto her thighs. Frisk pushed away and stood up, pulling the toy off and tossing it onto Chara’s limp and swollen body. She laughed as she buttoned her pants once again, and walked off to the kitchen, pulling something from one of her many drawers. It was a metal collar, which she promptly slammed around Chara’s neck, who laid on the floor, sobbing tears.

“Stop crying, Chara, you brought this on yourself. Don’t worry, if you behave the rest of tonight, eat your dinner and behave tomorrow, it will be a much better day. I don’t want to have to punish you, I really don’t. Your body is honestly too perfect to damage like that, but you deserved it this time. Please, behave. I love you.” Frisk smiled gently, placing a soft kiss on Chara’s cheek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do NOT condone this sort of behavior in anyway. I honestly find it disgusting and heartbreaking. Unless its consensual roleplay and safe words are used, but this is not that.


	6. Love's Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chara recalls her memory of a strange, consistent vision throughout her life, as well as recalling her first memory of love. Her very first memory of loving Frisk.

“Yes, yes… I.. I love you too..” Chara sniffled, rubbing her eyes as she stood and gathered her torn clothes. She stumbled down the hall and stepped into her new room, putting on whatever clothes that Frisk hadn’t ruined. The room was deathly cold, and so Chara pulled the large fluffy blanket off the bed and wrapped herself in it. She meandered from the bed to the window, opening up the curtain.

Chara sat on the windowsill, staring into the deep night as the sun set as it painted the night sky like a black canvass with brilliant purple light. The stars began to emerge from shadow, twinkling bright and bring Chara solace as she fiddled with the collar stamped around her neck. She had found out the hard way that if she ever dared or attempted to leave the household or its premises, the collar would deliver a fierce, unrelenting shock that had enough force to knock her out. Once again, Chara was a prisoner but this time it was a prisoner of someone she had never expected to be held captive by. It was like a nightmare, like someone had taken their hopes and dreams for the future and twisted them, curled them, corrupted them, and in such an abhorrent manner that it made Chara want to vomit.

She sat alone, looking out from her window to see once again, a deep, shining blue light hovering in the distance, though she had no idea where it might have come from. It wasn’t the first time that she had seen the blue light in her home town, nor the first time she had seen the blue light in the world. The glistening blue light had first arrived in Chara’s vision in a trench of war, when she was only a foot soldier. It was all quiet on the front, not a sound resonating from the field when she saw it. In the distance, resting gently on the horizon, was a soft, comforting blue light that seemed to believe in and comfort Chara just as much as she wanted to be believed in and to be comforted at the time. The second time she saw the blue light was in a prison camp, deep underground behind bars of rusted steel. The blue light hovered from a keyhole belonging to some cell or some door lingering just down the hall with just enough radiance for Chara to see it dancing. The blue light always filled Chara with determination, no matter where she was or how she felt, and so she reached it for it whilst sitting on the window sill. She could now recall the first time the blue light had ever appeared, just one month before she had gone to war, before the first time she had lost all hope. It was a cold, rainy night, and she wandered the streets alone.

_High-school prom night, what a legendarily cliche thing in many a story that was now Chara’s life. Like expected, she wasn’t at the dance at all. She hated things like that, formal dances and that sort of nonsense. Instead, Chara found herself wandering the neighborhood in the dark, cold night as rain poured down through her hair and across her face. She could just so vaguely recall that Frisk was going to prom, though she could hardly recall who with. Chara was almost a little jealous. Not of Frisk, mind you, but the person that Frisk had chosen to be her date. It was a strange feeling, one type of feeling that Chara had never really experienced. She had been jealous of Frisk many times, for sure, but that was only in the way that she seemed to be able to accomplish everything with such ease and such grace, and how Chara ended up liking her more than she liked herself._

_Walking through the neighborhood and by the houses in the rain was the night she first saw the blue light, always hovering in the distance, always just out of reach. Chara saw, through the misting of the rain and perhaps through her own tears, a bright, glowing blue light that shone across the whole street, illuminating everything that now lay before her. It was so enticing, pushing Chara’s sore legs just another step, just a little farther into the distance, her arm outstretched as if she could touch the light, as if it was some tangible object. It was then that the blue light vanished from thin air, like it had never been there at all, to reveal a soft yellow lamp light, glistening over a familiar face. It was Frisk, standing in the rain without an umbrella, clutching to the lamp-pole as if her life depended on holding that lamp so tight that it would bend and shatter. Chara walked over slowly, hands in her pockets, with a grin that resonated with the jerky persona she kept constantly by her side._

_“Hey there, munchkin. You look at little down in the dumps, why aren’t you at that dumb school prom you spent so much time freaking out about?” Chara snided, walking over to Frisk and patting her shoulder. Frisk was wearing a flowery blue and purple dress and billowed out at her hips, folded in layers that seemed as if they might bloom if she so much as turned._

_“My date ditched me for someone else, at the doors, but it isn’t like you would care about it. You don’t care about these kind of things, you’re probably going to tell me just to get over it.” Frisk huffed, rubbing her arms to try and keep warm in the cold night._

_“Don’t be ridiculous,” Chara scoffed, taking off her green jacket and placing it over Frisk’s shoulders with a grin plastered to her face, “You know how much I love the idea of crashing a school party. Why don’t you go with me and we show those idiots how to dance?”_

_“Me? Ridiculous, Chara stop joking around. You don’t have a ticket, neither do I, and you’re not even dressed for prom! I don’t need you teasing me right now.” Frisk, regardless of her words, tightened Chara’s jacket around her as she spoke._

_“So? When did you ever count me for a rule follower?” Chara laughed, stepping back in front of Frisk and taking her hand. “I’m serious. I’ll sneak you in, and you and I can dance the night away. Now, I know I’m not exactly a quality replacement for whomever you lost here tonight, but you can surely rub it in that you don’t need whoever they are. It’ll be fun, Frisk, what do you say?”_

_Frisk grinned, wrapping an arm around Chara’s waist, “I say let’s do it.” She nodded, and the two walked in the rain back to the school. Just as Chara promised, she broke the two of them in through an unused door of some unused hall and led them to the hall where the dance would be taking place. Just like Chara promised, the two danced the night away._

Just one month later, Chara enlisted into the human army battalion that would be marching into the east to free the rest of monster kind. Monsters that had been enslaved or brutalized by the eastern empire and their toxic regime. Chara did not return from the east for nine years, without a single word exchanged between the two. She was running from the most terrifying thing in her world to something only slightly less terrifying, and when she came back from her nightmare, she was dunked into another nightmare. She wanted to talk to her brother, somehow, someway, and find some way to figure out just what was going on. It was no stranger to anyone that Chara loved Frisk at one point, and surely she could love Frisk again.. After all, this was not the worst thing that had ever happened to her. The old Frisk that Chara had grown to love and hold so dearly must still be there, buried underneath all of that pain and abandonment. Suddenly, a knock rang from the door and Chara slipped down from the window sill.

“Chara! Your brother called me, and I explained that you and I will be living together now. Your family will be visiting tomorrow for lunch and to bring over your belongings, so I expect you to be up by ten sharp and dressed by eleven. We’re going to prepare lunch together, won’t that be fun darling?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blue Light? Green Light? I can't help it, I'm a big fan of Gatsby.


	7. Luncheon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chara wakes up after a rough night to an apology from Frisk, but she isn't sure how to feel about it. Still, seeing her family will be great, yes?

Chara rolled out of her bed in the morning, sleep still heavy on her eyelids as she stumbled from the bed to the door, which was already opened to her surprise. Stuck to the outside of the door was a sticky note with pretty cursive writing on it. _Dearest Chara, I am very sorry for my behavior last night, I had no right to treat you in such an awful manner. You just made me so upset, darling and.. I brought you some clothes and set them in the restroom so that you can shower. Don’t worry, your collar is water resistant, you don’t have to worry._

For sure the real Frisk was still underneath the surface, the kindness and flawlessness that Chara had once loved and held dearly close to her heart. She sleepily stumbled away from the note on the door and towards the bathroom, seeing a neatly folded and stacked pile of clothes resting on a stool next to the shower. It was a black pair of skinny jeans, something Chara had grown very fond of, a purple T-shirt and a blue jacket. Those were Frisk’s colors, without a doubt; Frisk loved blue and purple. Not wondering if the clothes fit or not, Chara turned the shower on to hot and removed her ruined clothing, staring in the mirror when there was nothing left. How could Frisk love someone like herself, Chara wondered, looking at the scars that littered her body. Scars from burns, scars from bullets, scars from knives, scars from surgery, they were all over her body, leaving almost no clear space. Chara didn’t feel as if she truly deserved anyone’s love, with her failures and a scar for everyone of them, and Frisk was kind to love her and treat her the way that she did. That was kindness, was it not? To love the undeserving?

The bathroom began to fill with rising steam, and so Chara finally stepped into the shower, allowing the water to run softly over her, the heat almost tickling her senses as she took in a deep breath. The tension in her body dissolved under the hot, near boiling water, and Chara realized that she didn’t truly want to leave. It wasn’t until Frisk began to knock on the door that Chara was shaken from her near slumber in the shower

“Chara, love, we need to start making lunch soon! Please finish your shower quickly so that we can start, I wouldn’t want to disappoint anyone!” Frisk called cheerfully, and Chara could hear her footsteps as she walked off. She sighed, quickly finishing up before stepping out of the shower and drying herself with the available towel. Her hair would take quite a lot of time to dry, considering just how thick it was, but she didn’t feel the need to do anything extra than just letting it air dry.

Chara dressed in the clothes that Frisk brought her, and wandered from the bathroom to the kitchen. Frisk was wearing a white apron with a dripping red heart on it, the words kiss the cook embroidered on it. Underneath the apron she wore a light purple skirt patterned with blue flowers and a simple yet elegantly laced and buttoned white top with short sleeves. She was, Chara had to admit, really quite beautiful as she gracefully danced around the kitchen, singing to herself. Chara had grown so entranced in watching Frisk that she simply leaned against the door frame of the kitchen and stared. Frisk was constantly checking the oven, leaning over in a way that made Chara blush, and dancing back to the kitchen to a few bowls with something in them that Chara couldn’t see and stirring, or adding more ingredients. Frisk cooking was truly a ballet, every move she made seeming almost coordinated in advance as if she knew Chara would be watching this. She seemed so happy and peaceful, in such a way that Chara felt if she made the slightest noise, the trance would be thrown off and the beautiful moment of tranquility would be lost in the sound forever.

“Chara, my love? Why don’t you stop staring from the doorway and come inside? You know you’re fully welcome in here, it’s your house too.” Frisk teased, nonchalantly tossing a large, used ladle into the sink as she stepped forward and grabbed Chara by the collar, but only ever so gently.

“I.. Yes, of course..” Chara stuttered nervously, taking Frisk’s hand in her own and consequently, away from the collar and away from her throat. She smiled weakly as Frisk pulled her by the hand into the kitchen. “Is there anything that you’d like help with, Frisk?”

“Well… Since you did let me do all the cooking while you watched in the doorway, why don’t you go ahead and get the dishes clean for me, darling?” Frisk poked Chara’s stomach and laughed, pulling her by the hand towards the sink before slipping behind her, placing her hands on to Chara’s waist. She slipped her finger tips into the crevasse of Chara’s jeans and grinned, “Won’t you be a dear, Chara?” 

“Oh, well, I.. Yes, of course.” Chara almost jumped out of her skin when she felt the cold of Frisk’s fingers slide against her lower hips, it tingling and shocking every nerve in her body like an active wire.

“Why thank you so much, sweetheart. I think I should best get setting the table for our little get together? If there’s anything else I need you to do, I’ll let you know, sweetie.” Frisk removed her hands from Chara’s waist and turned away, just before deciding to give a quick smack to her ass. She walked out of the kitchen, laughing. “You’re adorable, Chara, you really are.”

“Geez!” Chara squeaked out, dropping the sponge and the dish she had picked up, staring wide eyed out the window and towards the view of the forest around the mountain. With Frisk almost out of the room, Chara finally gathered some courage and she called out, “Not as adorable as you are, Frisk!”

That’s what did it, that’s what stopped Frisk just at the cusp of leaving the kitchen. She turned around with a massive grin and walked slowly towards Chara, accenting every single step as if she was going down a runway on stage, and it brought an even fiercer, even redder blush to Chara’s face. “What was that, babycakes? Is this the game that you want to play right now?” She smiled, placing her hands on Chara’s waist, turning her around.

“I.. Yes, yes it is.” Chara nodded quickly, reaching her hands to take Frisk by hers and tried to control her raging blush. She began to speak through a nervous stutter, trying her hardest too sound braver than she was,“You’re the most adorable, kindest person in the world. No one can ever be as cute as you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Chara.” Frisk grinned, once again playing with the hem of Chara’s jeans, “I may be incredibly kind and generous, but you’re the one with an unparalleled level of cuteness and adorability. And you’re so brave, you’re my brave warrior with your battle scars and heroic medals.”

“You’re being ridiculous, I’m not a hero, I’m not brave and I’m not cute or adorable, these scars took care of that. You’re the one that’s adorable, that’s cute and you’re just so pure.” Chara sighed, breaking eye contact with Frisk, trying to hide from her piercing gaze. “You’re too kind to keep me around.”

“Mmm, you’re right about one thing, your scars did take away from being cute and adorable. It isn’t a bad thing, though, the way you think. I think your scars make you less adorable and more, what’s the word.. Hot? Maybe even a little sexy.” Frisk winked, pushing her fingers down to touch the bare skin of Chara’s lower waist. “That’s part of why I want to keep you around, to be honest. You are a hero though, and that’s another reason. I like heroes.”

“Oh, gosh, are you, oh..” Chara stumbled over her words, unsure of what to say, her stomach doing flips on the embrace of Frisk’s cold touch. It started with a fire in her heart, a fire that began to drip liquid heat into her stomach. “What are the other reasons..? The reasons that you keep me around..”

“You’re strong, you’re tall and ridiculously sexy with some nice curve for a soldier,” Frisk started, moving her hands and giving Chara’s ass a squeeze. “But despite the fact that you’re always trying to be a prickly, tsundere cactus, you have a good heart. You’re very understanding of me, always, and you are just so, so passionate about the things you love and care about. You’re an admirable human, Chara. And you’re also hot as hell.”

“Well, I.. I’m glad you enjoy my body..” Chara squeaked, quickly placing her hands on Frisk’s shoulders. She leaned in, nestling herself into Frisk’s exposed neck, breathing hotly against her skin, “And thank you, you’re very sweet to say these things..”

“If I’m so sweet, maybe you should just give me a little bit of a taste.” Frisk whispered, keeping her hands shoved in Chara’s tight jeans. “You know exactly what I mean.”

“I think so..” Chara mumbled, pressing her lips against Frisk’s neck and softly kissing her. It was oddly comforting to Chara, almost in a way that scared her half to death. It was truly strange, considering the things that Frisk had done to her just the night before.

Then there was a knock at the door and a loud ring that echoed throughout the house. Frisk quickly pulled away from Chara and swore under her breath, turning away and running her hands through her own hair. “Damn it, I got distracted. I’m going to go greet our guests, can you please bring the food to the table, darling?”

“Yes, yes of course..” Chara nodded, turning around to look out the window. In the distance, deep within the forest, a blue light began glow and hover in the trees, barely visible from the light of the sun. It seemed to be calling out to Chara, wanting her to drop all her things and leave to investigate, something about that light was.. What was it?


	8. Story-Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lunch becomes an exchange of stories that leaves Chara in tears, but with nothing holding her back, will she return to her old habits?

Chara had ignored the light in the forest, taking the plates of food that Frisk already set up and bringing them to the table where everyone sat. Frisk had taken Chara back to the kitchen just prior in order to remove the metal clamp of a collar so that no questions were raised. Her whole family was there, smiles brightly resting on their faces as Chara came from the kitchen. “Greetings, how have you guys been while I was out sick?” She smiled.

“Oh, things have been alright! I’m very happy to know that you and Frisk will be staying together from now on, I always knew it would happen!” Mother almost clapped in excitement at the thought, like she was already planning the wedding out in her head.

“Are you feeling better now, lil’ Charbear?” Asriel teased with a goofy looking grin on his face, “It must have been all that chocolate when you were hiding up in your room, huh? You should be more careful about your sweets.”

“Yeah, it must have been the chocolate..” Chara’s smile faded as their mind wandered blankly away from the situation. It must have been the chocolate, Asriel didn’t know the half of that statement. It was the chocolate, for sure, the chocolate that Frisk had drugged.

“Hey, it’s just a joke, Chara. I’m only teasing you about the whole hiding in your room thing, you don’t have to be embarrassed.” Asriel momentarily frowned, but his goofy grin soon returned, “Lighten up, Charbear!”

“Oh, yeah, yeah, sorry.” Chara laughed it off, but the fact that Frisk had drugged her and done things to her when there was nothing she could do hung grotesquely in the back of her mind. “Everyone have everything that they want? Frisk?”

“You’re fine, dear, come have a seat and enjoy lunch with us!” Frisk encouraged, pulling a chair out for Chara to sit right next to her. Chara sat down in the chair, pushed herself in and looked down at her food. It was all vegetarian food, naturally, considering that her family was vegetarian and so was Frisk. Chara, however, could really have gone for some chicken in this salad or something. The bread was very nice, though, and the vindaloo was alright as well, as far as vindaloo with no meat in it can be. 

“You know, that weird anomaly has shown up again. Do you remember the one that appeared several years ago, six years I think?” Father noted, slowly nodding his head, “Did you ever figure out what it was last time, Frisk?”

“Oh, that thing! I think I remember what you mean, but it was so long ago.. I’m sure I have a file on it somewhere in one of my cabinets. I don’t really remember what exactly it was, but I’m sure we should be able to get rid of it as soon as possible.” Frisk replied with a curt nod, taking bites of her salad.

“Those filing cabinets, I swear..” Asriel let his laugh trail off with a shake of his head before he began to speak again, “It’s a miracle that you can keep all these files organized since they made you both the ambassador and the mayor of this place. You’ve got all these records of civil cases, policies, policy violation, schedules and plans, then you’ve got all the foreign policy and cases to handle! That stuff just piles up, it’s crazy!”

“It’s a job I’m honored to do, even if I do get swamped and practically drown in paperwork.” Frisk laughed and sighed, “With Chara home, I think things are going to be so much better in this house. I’m very glad to have her back safe and in one piece.” Frisk said dreamily, leaning over and giving Chara a kiss on the cheek. Chara blushed and dropped her fork with a sharp clutter of metal.

“I think we’re all more than happy to have Chara back safe and in one piece. I got so worried about you, Chara! You never wrote, I always thought something might have happened to you. But Frisk and Asriel knew you would come home, and that you would come back safe.” Mother nodded happily, “They never doubted you once.”

“I’m flattered that you both have so much faith in me, truly..” Chara nodded, poking around at her food, uninterested. “I never had that much faith that I would come home. I’m really lucky that I made it back, not even some of the best could make it back.”

“What was it like, Chara?” Asriel asked quickly, leaning forward in his seat with a fire glistening in his eyes, “What did you have to do, how did you become such a hero? I don’t think you’ve noticed but people are talking about you, all these crazy things you did. I think we all want to hear the story.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, I’m not a hero.” Chara scoffed, “But I did a lot of things, for sure. At first I was just a soldier on the front, I made the charges and went to the places that no one really wanted to go and did the things that had to be done but no one wanted to do. I wasn’t being a hero when I did those suicide missions, I wasn’t thinking about ever coming home. The world refused to let me die, though. Somehow I came back from everyone until they started assigning them to me more and more. They promoted me, too, and gave me my own squadron of soldiers that were just as nuts as I was. They called us the Ghosts, and I figure it’s because most of us should have been dead where we stood. It was about then that we had our first task as a group, to go into one of the big cities of the east and get it ready for siege. We had to plant explosives in some of the major places, like the town hall and in the sewer system.. It was messed up, there were plain citizens there when the bombs went off. When we went in to take over, I could see piles of bodies. There were kids, too, and their dolls strewn in the streets. We took anyone that didn’t pass as a prisoner and we turned the city into our base of operations where we would start taking the rest of the east. They put me and my men in charge of liberating the monster camps that laid south of the city. I don’t think liberating the monsters was such a big deal to them or they wouldn’t have sent us alone to do it, I’m sure they were more interested in the land conquest and power.. Either way, we took our suicide missions into camp after camp, targeting the humans in power and allowing the camp monsters to fight back against the rest. We sent them to the city and continued on our way. It wasn’t until we broke into the biggest one of them that things started to not go well. They knew we were coming, and they set up a trap in the camp that we played right into. They tried to execute us in the courtyard by a firing squad, but something inside of me.. I felt something break, like the snapping of a chain. I used magic, Asriel, plant magic, and I don’t really know what happened. I was angry and scared, and.. The guards started dropping like flies, I had no idea why. There was screaming and shouting, gunshots going off and things exploding left and right. I saw some of my soldiers, my friends, dying from stray bullets and wounds. When there wasn’t a sound around me, I looked and I saw.. I saw.. Everyone was staring at me. And they started clapping. They told me that I had taken on an entire legion from the east and won. I think that’s when I became known as a hero..

That wasn’t the end of it, though. When we were searching the camp, we found something underneath it that we didn’t expect to find. It was a bunker, and they were doing experiments on monsters in there. It was horrible. When we came back up, the entire army of the regime had fallen back to the camp and.. One tragedy short, I was captured, but I put up a fight for as hard as my soul would let me. I saw a lot of messed up things that day, and they took me to the deep cells in the capital. A lot happened in that cell for years, but when things finally hit rock bottom while my higher ups sieged, they witnessed me blow up the whole building sky high. They thought someone had dropped a bomb on the city, or something, but no one had.. I was so angry that I didn’t have any control, there was just fire everywhere, and I was taking every ounce of pent up emotion and letting it out on the regime. When it was all said and done, I passed out. When I finally woke up again, they were taking me to an award ceremony and covering me in medals.”

At the end of telling her story, Chara’s mind had drifted away and tears slowly began to fall down her rosy cheeks. She hadn’t even told the full story, but the memory of everything that had happened was fresh in her mind and it burned like salt on an open wound.

“Oh my god, Chara! You’re like some kind of god, did you seriously just blow that building up all on your own? With just MAGIC?!” Asriel exclaimed, practically standing up and leaning forward over the table with his eyes wide in amazement. “I had no idea your magic was so powerful! I knew you could do it but… Holy heck!!!”

“I always knew Chara was strong, I’m not surprised they were able to do so much. I remember, years ago, when Chara first tried to do magic and was comfortable even trying. She was so scared of magic at first, so we started out in the garden! The garden is always such a beautiful place for magic, for creating life. And you know, we started out with trying to grow flowers! She just wanted to make her flowers grow, and~” Father started to go off on a tangent in one of his stories while Chara stared off into the distance, the world falling into darkness around her as she became numb, while she became ice, water melting and dripping down her cheeks. Did they not remember the monsters in the camp? Thousands died that day, including her own soldiers that trusted her with her life. Something that struck closer to Chara’s heart, though, was the fact that she had failed her promise that day. She promised that she would protect all monsters, that she would take care of them, but thousands of them died in front of her eyes when she could do nothing to stop it.

“I have to go to the restroom, I’ll be back in a few minutes, I think.” Chara stood mindlessly, walking from the dining room and down the hall to the bathroom. She braced her hands against the sink and she started to cry, tears pouring down her cheeks like waterfalls. 

When Chara finally looked up, her tears slowing, she saw the blue light glistening in the forest outside of the window. Realizing that her collar was no longer on, she forced the window open and noticed the steel bars behind it. She began to heat up her hands until they were glowing bright orange, and she bent the bars open with extreme heat. She crawled out of the window and dropped down to the ground, rolling down the hill gracefully and landing on her feet at the base of the hill. Chara could still see the light in the forest, and she chased after it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes.


End file.
